March 17, 2008

On 'Pathological Denial' And The Organization Of The Islamic Conference's ''Jaw-Dropping'' Claim Of Westerners' ''Defaming'' Islam. (Updated)

Although one would have to work very hard to "defame" Islam any more than Islamists do on their own, nonetheless, Muslims are considering taking legal action against those that "slight their religion or its sacred symbols":

... Concerned about what they see as a rise in the defamation of Islam, leaders of the world's Muslim nations are considering taking legal action against those that slight their religion or its sacred symbols. ... The Muslim leaders are attempting to demand redress from nations like Denmark, which allowed the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in 2006 and again last month, to the fury of the Muslim world. ... Though the legal measures being considered have not been spelled out, the idea pits many Muslims against principles of freedom of speech enshrined in the constitutions of numerous Western governments. "I don't think freedom of expression should mean freedom from blasphemy," said Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade, the chairman of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference.

... The report urges the creation of a "legal instrument" to crack down on defamation of Islam...

As David Thompson struggles ever-so-briefly to come up with the right term to describe the Muslims' plans - Vanity? Hubris? - dawn emerges - and aptly comes up with "Pathological denial":

"Perhaps we should peel away the rhetoric of victimhood, used so indecently, and look at what's actually being demanded here: A right not to hear that one is being irrational, dishonest or mortifyingly stupid, regardless of just how irrational, dishonest or mortifyingly stupid one actually is. That's a license of no small magnitude, and one that a person of good faith would neither grant nor desire. It's one thing for a Muslim to perform whatever mental contortions are required to add the honorific "peace be upon him" to the name of a vain and murderous Bedouin who claimed to talk with God while beheading hundreds of his victims; but to enshrine that pathological dishonesty in international law would be intellectual vandalism on a jaw-dropping scale."